


Alone

by aravenwood



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo '18-20 [4]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Arguing, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Emotional Hurt, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, M/M, Post-Movie: The Old Guard (2020)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26066260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aravenwood/pseuds/aravenwood
Summary: Nicky wasn’t used to being alone. He hadn’t been alone in over 900 years and he was so used to Joe’s constant presence at his side that he’d forgotten what silence was really like.Written for the Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt "neglect/abandonment".
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo '18-20 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1892221
Comments: 14
Kudos: 129





	Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So can I just say that I feel awful for this fic, I want to hug both Nicky and Joe but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to write a reunion...
> 
> Enjoy!

Nicky wasn’t used to being alone. He hadn’t been alone in over 900 years and he was so used to Joe’s constant presence at his side that he’d forgotten what silence was really like. Andy and Nile were gone too, not gone like Joe was but off to scout out a new safehouse. They’d offered him the chance to come along but he’d faked a smile and told them that he just wanted to sleep.

Instead he’d spent the last day and a half with his face buried in Joe’s pillow, breathing in his smell and doing his best not to cry. Now his lips were dry and cracked and his skin felt tight. He was in dire need of a drink but he couldn’t bring himself to fetch himself one. It was like there was a weight on his chest keeping him in place, his own guilt and fear the heaviest load he’d ever had to bear.

All he could hear in his head were the last words Joe had said to him before he’d left – “he almost kills us and you don’t even care.” Nicky had tried to respond but by the time he’d opened his mouth, the door had already slammed closed and Joe was gone. He’d heard the sound of a car engine speeding off and had fallen to his knees, silent in his shock. That was three days ago.

Since then, he’d been too sick to eat and too afraid to sleep. When he’d drifted off for a few minutes after Andy and Nile had sat with him on the bed, he’d been struck with violent nightmares which left him gasping for air. Since then, sleep was off the cards.

When Joe was here, they’d always had their independence. They stuck close by but never held each other back, never depended on the other for their sanity. At least, Nicky hadn’t thought so but now he wasn’t so sure because he felt like he’d lost a part of him – not just an arm or a leg but half of his heart, and now he was left barely functioning with what was left.

He’d never been more afraid in his entire life, not even during his worst deaths. All of a sudden he understood Booker – who could live a life like theirs if there was no one to hold at the end of the day? No one to cry to, no one to mourn with or try and understand the cruelties of the modern world.

Without Joe, he was alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry! If it's any consolation I imagine Joe charging in like twenty minutes later apologising and explaining himself...


End file.
